The present thesis is focused on developing a better understanding of factors driving disease biology and overall risk using cancers of the bladder and breast as model systems. As no single approach was likely to unravel the complexities of these...

The objective of this thesis was to examine the neural and physiological substrates underlying the processing of aversive information, and how individual differences in anxiety influence these responses. In a series of experiments, we utilized skin...

The neurophysiological examination of auditory-object representations has focused on how early auditory cortical areas code for the spectral and temporal features of auditory objects. The goals of this dissertation was to investigate how auditory...

The general objective of the current thesis was to investigate the neural substrates underlying the perception of opposite-sex faces. Building on what is already known about the distributed network of brain areas supporting various dimensions of...

The experiments comprising this thesis aimed to characterize the neural and behavioral correlates of learning about and responding to the predictive information conveyed by social cues. Facial expressions are cues that convey critical information...

The studies presented in this dissertation explore several points of intersection between action perception and production within the human brain. One's ability to use perceptual information about another individual's actions to guide and inform...

As humans we create goals and strive toward ideals, engaging in a constant endeavor to better ourselves or maintain our success. Whether goals are distant hopes for the future, or small steps of change, success requires some control over...

Every moment of our waking lives, our brains filter large quantities of sensory data for goal relevant information. This ability to modulate our sensitivity to incoming inputs is critical in the face of an otherwise overwhelming world, and...

This thesis centers around a generalization of the classical discrete Fourier transform. We first present a general diagrammatic approach to the construction of efficient algorithms for computing the Fourier transform of a function on a finite...

The ability to resist highly tempting reward impulses is a struggle that all humans face on a daily basis, one that gives rise to many societal problems such as obesity and drug addiction. This form of self-regulation involves a critical balance...

This thesis investigates a notion of Turing reducibility introduced by Winkler [8] that is total on all computably enumerable oracles. Groszek and Weber show in [7] that this is a new notion of reducibility and it is not transitive. They give su...

The overarching goal of the dissertation was to further understanding of the relationship between callosal organization, functional lateralization, and interhemispheric communication in the healthy, young adult brain. Three converging methodologies...

The frequency gene and the two proteins it encodes are central components of the Neurospora circadian clock. The frq message and proteins are involved in a negative feedback loop in which FRO represses its own transcript level. Based on this...

APETALA3 (AP3) is a MADS box gene required for normal development of the petals and stamens in the Arabidopsis flower. AP3 transcriptional regulation occurs in two stages; an initial establishment phase, which is mediated by LEAFY (LFY) and UNUSUAL...

The motivational and rewarding properties of our immediate environment affect how humans interact with our world in a number of ways. One important aspect in which reward representation shapes behavior is in the development, maintenance and...

This thesis represents a program of behavioral and brain-based research directed at elucidating the mechanisms of analogical reasoning. The studies that comprise this thesis took convergent experimental approaches to extend knowledge concerning two...

From the most minimal of person information, such as a photograph or a sentence, people are able to rapidly infer a multitude of complex personality traits. These social inferences are thought to rely upon cognitive representations of person...

The central topic of the self has proven a vexing conundrum for philosophers and psychologists alike for centuries. Prior research suggests that the self is a powerful cognitive structure which biases attentional mechanisms in favor of apprehension...

This thesis contains some results concerning groupoid dynamical systems and crossed products. We introduce the notion of a proper groupoid dynamical system and of its generalized fixed point algebra. We show that our notion of proper groupoid...

Work in Arabidopsis and other model species over the past 25 years has led to major insights into the control of floral organ identity. However, much less is known about genes that control the growth and differentiation of floral organs. In this...

Successfully navigating our social world requires the ability to understand the facial expressions of others. Indeed, facial expressions provide information about the emotions and intentions of others. While some expressions provide clear...

Multiresolution image transformations have become commonplace tools for analyzing images for a number of applications, including enhancement and restoration. Powerful models for these applications have been developed in the transform domain of...

Up to 43% of patients with schizophrenia suffer from a co-occurring cannabis use disorder (CUD), which results in symptom exacerbation, decreased response to antipsychotic medication, and an overall worsening of disease course. Available treatments...